Broward Teen To Play In Game Show

July 1, 1992|By SIMON DUVALL, Plantation High

When Courtney Rubin was editor of Hollywood Hills High School`s newspaper, she didn`t have to pay $250 for every vowel she used in a story. Rubin will have to watch her spending, however, when she competes on Wheel of Fortune.

Rubin, 17, auditioned in March for Wheel Of Fortune at the Fontainebleau Hilton on Miami Beach. She was notified by letter that she had been chosen and is waiting to be told when she will appear on the special Teen Week show.

``There are only two Teen Weeks a year, and only 24 to 30 teen contestants get picked each year. I was excited when I got the letter. Now, I`m just waiting,`` she said.

At the audition, Rubin was given written tests where she had to fill in missing letters and phrases, and she competed in group Wheel of Fortune games. After each round, those who answered incorrectly were cut.

``For the first few cuts I didn`t care if I made it or not. By the last two, I really wanted to make it,`` she said.

After the group was narrowed to about 10 or 15, the finalists played the Wheel of Fortune.

``Everything was the same, except one of the coordinators spun the wheel and stopped on certain messages, like lose a turn, to see our reaction.``

Contestants were watched closely during the audition.

``Personality counts more than anything,`` Rubin said.

At one point in the audition, a raffle was held and the potential contestants were given prizes so their reaction to winning could be observed by contestant coordinators.

``When they called my number I shrieked and screamed and I acted like I had won the whole show. They loved it. Later, one of the coordinators said, `That`s exactly how I want you to act. Always be enthusiastic.```

After the audition, Rubin didn`t find out she made it until two weeks later when she received a letter in the mail congratulating her.

She could be notified up to a month in advance, or be given only a week`s notice to fly at her own expense, to Los Angeles, Orlando, or another location where Wheel of Fortune is taped. Her family plans to make a vacation out of it.

Rubin isn`t the only Broward County teen-ager who has auditoned for a game show.

Larry Wilson, who graduated from Nova High in June, tried out for Teen Jeopardy in November in New Orleans. His parents sent in a postcard for him to audition and he flew to New Orleans at his own expense. Wilson didn`t make the final round.

``It would have been neat to be on the show but I didn`t expect to win,`` Wilson said.